Email from the U.S. PIRG

I just received the following email from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and thought I should pass it on:

Hi Jerry,

Swimming in the vast, blue ocean, fishing in a cool river, boating on a clear, still lake -- these are all activities which you may have enjoyed with your family this Labor Day weekend.

But the safeguards which are in place to make sure the waters we enjoy are clean and healthy are under attack. The Bush administration is making it easier to pollute by opening waterways to unlimited pollution and destruction.

The good news is that Congress has the power to protect all of America's waters.

Please sign the Protect America's Waters petition calling on our senators to safeguard our waterways. Then ask your friends and family to help out too by forwarding this email to them.

Click below to sign the petition, or copy and paste the link into your web browser:

http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=350&id4=ES


BACKGROUND:

Petition text:
"We rely on our rivers, lakes, streams and coastal waters for clean places to swim and fish and safe water to drink. For more than 30 years, waters from the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay to small streams and wetlands have been protected by the Clean Water Act, but now many waterways are at risk of more pollution and even destruction. Please protect all of America's waters by cosponsoring the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act (S. 912)."

Since the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972, we have made significant progress in cleaning up our waterways. Unfortunately many of America's great waters from the Mississippi River to the Chesapeake Bay to the Great Lakes are struggling from too much pollution.

Rather than cleaning up our waters, the Bush administration has put in place numerous policies that weaken water protections, including a 2003 policy that removes Clean Water Act protections from many of America's streams, wetlands and ponds. These streams and wetlands are the lifeblood of the nation's diverse water systems. They feed and clean America's large waterways by supplying water, filtering out pollutants, slowing flood waters and providing habitat for fish, birds and other wildlife.

As a result of the Bush administration's No Protection policy for America's waters, thousands of miles of streams and millions of acres of wetlands are at risk from unchecked development, pollution and even destruction. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 20 million acres of wetlands, 20% of the total wetlands in the continental U.S., are at risk of losing protection as a result of this policy.

As small streams and wetlands are damaged or destroyed, the rivers, lakes and coastal waters they feed and clean also are harmed.

To restore the health and integrity of America's waterways, we need to ensure that all waters continue to be protected. Congress can do just that by passing the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act.

Please sign the Protect America's Waters petition calling on our senators to safeguard our waterways.

Click below to sign the petition, or copy and paste the link into your web browser:

http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=350&id4=ES

Sincerely,

Anna Aurilio
U.S. PIRG Legislative Director
[email protected]
http://www.USPIRG.org

P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.